


Gundam Wing Interludes: One: Forever

by Megumi_L1



Series: Gundam Wing Interludes [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 06:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13564944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megumi_L1/pseuds/Megumi_L1
Summary: "Connected" to my "Mission Accepted" story.In which the so-called ultimate peace treaty between Earth and Space is ratified (but not described), Heero and Relena elope and Quatre willingly performs a shocking and badly rebounding act. Bittersweet ending.





	Gundam Wing Interludes: One: Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Catherine, Hilde and Sally show up in this story once and very briefly.

It was one of the most historic moments of all time.

All of the rulers of Earth and Space sat in various auditoriums throughout Earth and Space with their left forefingers raised above their touch-screen laptops.

On the large-screen monitors installed in the auditoriums and in various locations in the streets outside, and in countless homes and rooms throughout Earth and Space, Foreign Minister Relena Dorlian, standing behind a podium on a small stage and the subject of popping flashlights, zooming-in video cameras and impatient, bobbing microphones, quietly prepared to give the most important speech of her life.

The audience behind the mediapeople was too large to be accurately counted. But Relena would have been happy if only one person had shown up to see her.

 _This is it._ It _._ The _moment we've all been waiting for. Wish me luck, everyone._

It seemed as though an eternity had gone by since she had taken on her late adoptive father's responsibilities. And the path to peace had been full of difficulties and traps. But it had all been worth it.

The proof of that was both surrounding her and waiting for her to speak.

_They can wait just one moment more...please, wait. I'm not quite ready yet._

Billions upon billions of people were watching her, but the six that were the most important to her were out of view. Just as they were meant to be, for now. Still, they deserved top honors, and she planned to indirectly mention five of them in her speech.

 _Forgive me. But you deserve to be up here as much as_ I _do._

A baby suddenly made its presense known: He or she cried out loud somewhere in the audience, as though to hurry Relena along.

She smiled.

_I hear you._

But she couldn't stop herself from briefly thinking about her own baby, the child she shared with Heero, the young man who was closer to her in virtually all senses of the word.

_Heero..._

It wouldn't do to be distracted. She cleared her throat and looked at the bright blue sky.

"It has been a long, difficult path for us all. But we have finally reached our goal. Throughout Earth and Space, on this day, the most important one since man colonized space, all of the governments are willing and able to perform the one act that will cement the peace that we all have fought for."

She lowered her head to look at the audience, seeking no one in particular but wondering where a certain four were.

"Those who have fought the hardest for this moment should feel especially proud. If not for their courage, the rest of us would not have paths to follow or hands or words to guide us."

_That should do it. Forgive me for not being more specific. But that's the closest I will dare to come to pointing you out._

"This treaty is as much for them as it is for us."

This part of the moment was all hers. She could speak all day if she wanted to. But it wasn't about _her_. She had only negotiated many opinions into becoming one.

"Don't let their sacrifices be in vain, nor your own. We must make this treaty live in our hearts forever. It is _your_ treaty. Never forget that."

She raised her left palm.

The crowd roared.

Wincing at the decibels, she hesitated, then folded her fingers into a fist and sniffled.

_I'm crying..._

The noise level from the crowd was beyond deafening. But she remained where she was, too proud to speak any more.

On the bottom center all of the monitors throughout Earth and Space, a little black window appeared and the off-white text on it rapidly scrolled through the names, ranks and positive votes of all of the people that had touched their laptop screens in the appropriate areas.

Five percent....twelve percent....

Relena wanted to high-five the stars. She thought that she was dreaming. The governments could _not_ all be in agreement. Did anyone realize how many people were confirming their desire for peace?

Fifteen percent...sixteen percent...

...the number of people who had lowered their left forefingers _as soon as_ she had made the fist?

It was nearly overwhelming.

"Foreign Minister!" "Miss Relena!" "Minister!" "How does it feel?" "Anything more that you want to add? Any more comments?"

Someone stepped forwards to field the questions, which indeed did seem to be coming from all directions.

Twenty-five percent....

How were the votes being tallied? The amount of data had to be overwhelming as well.

Twenty-seven percent...

So many years...so many sacrifices...

"This is a dream come true for so, so many people..."

Thirty-one percent....

She wanted to leave. Heero and their son were waiting for her and besides, her work was done.

She smirked.

_My mission is complete._

Thirty-five percent...

She would leave when the count was fifty percent. They didn't expect her to wait here all day, did they? She had been reduced to a symbol. It was time for the next interplanetary negotiator to step forth.

But one wasn't needed anymore. At least, Relena _hoped_ so. This treaty was the absolute ultimate peace treaty. It had been worked on too hard for some fool to toy with it.

Yet she knew that some fool would, some day. Not everyone everywhere wanted peace. Hadn't the incident with Briggs Hawton taught many people that?

Her lip curled.

 _I should have killed him. But they would never have let me "take the fall" for that. I was too precious. Too_ needed _. My reputation was supposed to be "unsoiled". Humph. I'm no more human than anyone else._

Forty percent....

 _Everything worked out in the end. But it wasn't_ supposed _to. I'm supposed to be in jail. It would have been worth it. How_ dare _he try to take over the world the way he did? There's not enough money in the world for him to have succeeded. Not_ everyone _is a fool for money. He stood alone._

Forty-three percent...

She ached to hold her baby.

 _If only you could see this! I would hold you up high, have you feel the excitement, the sheer_ joy _of this moment._

Forty-five percent...

_I never thought that this day would come. Now that it has, I don't quite know what to do with myself._

Going home and taking a nap sounded good. Yes, curled up in front of the fire, in Heero's arms and Little Heero's grip...

Except that Heero didn't come to her during the day, unless there was someplace "important" that she had to be, and even then he kept out of sight. And unless he told her where he was, or where he was going, she never knew where he was until any time between five and seven, when she would turn one way or another and he would be right there, seemingly out of nowhere.

Of course, Thomas didn't like this, and mentioned it to his mistress in one way or another every single day.

She usually found a way to convince him to keep his opinions to himself, but the one time he had called her a willing "hit and run" victim, he had nearly been the victim of a serious crime himself.

Heero had come along just in time to stop Relena from venting her full rage on the butler. Which meant that Thomas owed "the scruffy one" one. But he would never admit it.

Fifty-one percent...

_He'll never leave us alone. But seeing my two babies play together, eat together, take naps together and laugh at the same things more than makes up for his nose-poking._

Fifty-five percent...

"Heero..."

Her lips barely moved. If she said his name too audibly there could be trouble.

_I want us to be with our baby._

Fifty-eight percent...

His hands fell on her shoulders and he turned her around to face him.

"Relena."

She gasped despite herself, despite knowing that he'd been close by all along.

"Heero. Did you see..."

"Of _course_. I knew you could do it."

She beamed at him.

"We _all_ did it. Every heart that hoped for peace."

He was surprised and pleased to see the pride he felt reflected back at him in her eyes.

_Relena..._

For a few seconds he ached to wrap himself around her, to be with her in ways that only he could.

_I always want to be touching you._

At the very least, he wanted to rest his head on her abdomen, or lie at her feet.

Tears stung her eyes.

"Heero..."

_I need you so much..._

He winced, suddenly remembering where they were. He removed his hands and grabbed one of hers.

"Let's go."

"But what about-"

"The flashes stopped popping at fifty percent."

Her face fell.

"Oh. I understand."

"Don't worry about it. They'll be banging on your door tomorrow morning."

She scowled.

"I won't be receiving them."

She looked at him hopefully.

_Will you stay?_

" _Will_ I?"

His serious expression didn't change.

"Not if you don't want to."

That was good enough for her. She took one last look at the vote - which was sixty-three percent - and then let him lead her off the stage. 

-GWFI1F-

The estate was surrounded by cheerers and jeerers, and there was a massive block party going on.

Heero, sitting next to Relena in the back seat of the modified late-model sedan for a change, shook his head slowly as the car slowed to a halt nearly a mile away from the combination mansion and Earth HEION base.

"Forget it. Let's go to my apartment."

The driver had driven Heero home before. He simply nodded, then pressed a button on the dashboard.

Relena, who had never seen the choice that he had made from the list of four "unlisted" apartments that she had shown him several months ago, had to grab her seatbelt to keep from fainting.

"Your...apartment?"

The button that the driver had pressed had basically sent a "Heero's apartment" signal to the main security stations of both HEION bases. 

Baby Heero would be snuck out to the apartment within a minute, perhaps two, depending on whether he was going to be taken from helicopter to car or vice versa, depending on where Heero lived.

Relena didn't know how her staff did it. She was just very happy that they did.

Heero quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You got a problem with my apartment? Someone told you that all I got is take-out and a bunch of baby things?"

She shook her head.

"What happened to all the food that the chefs gave you for this week?"

He shrugged.

"I finished it."

She shook her head again, more slowly this time.

"Let's just go, already."

The driver nodded.

"Yes, madam."

Heero chuckled, leaned forwards and pushed the headrest in front of him.

The driver shook his head slowly as a two-inch thick, mirror-filmed, bullet-proof pane of glass seemed to shoot straight up from between the front and back seats and stopped when it reached the roof of the car.

He grimaced when the back seat creaked a few times.

"Oooo...Heero," Relena whispered.

"Ooooo," he teased her.

The driver rolled his eyes.

_We each must celebrate this day in our own way._

-GWFI1F-

Baby Heero napped near Relena's chest while his parents lay side-to-side on a large, waterproof pad with the first three letters of the alphabet colorfully printed all over it watching the television in the living room area of Heero's sparsely furnished apartment.

Heero raised the remote and turned the volume down a notch, but that did little to mask the noise from the crowds shown in various points-of-view from both Earth and the Colonies.

As the vote count increased, the points-of-view changed a bit more frequently until, at ninety-nine percent, the view settled on mediaperson Porter Silas, who was surrounded by so many people that nothing else was visible.

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" he screamed above the noise of the crowd.

Heero scowled and turned the volume down another notch.

"AND WE'RE LIVING IN THE MOMENT!" Silas screamed, his excitement making it hard for him to keep still.

Heero moved a finger towards the OFF button.

"Wait," Relena said.

Heero lowered the remote.

"You _really_ want to see more of this guy?"

"Shut him up, I just want to see when the vote reaches one hundred percent."

Heero shrugged and pressed the MUTE button.

But even muted, the television still broadcast a faint amount of sound when the vote reached one hundred percent. All of the points of view showed the crowds going insane with joy, mediapeople actually weeping, tons of multicolored confetti literally pouring down from the sky (from unseen helicopters) and massive parties in both Earth and the Colonies, in which people either danced or helped themselves to the food and non-alcoholic champagne.

Relena smiled at the banners some people were waving around. In various arrangements of words, these banners thanked her, Quatre and the rest of those involved in the peace process.

And to add a significant, nice touch to all of this, the voters in each hall were shaking hands with each other under THANK YOU EVERYONE banners suspended from the ceilings.

Heero wondered why Relena wasn't in tears.

"It's _over,_ " she said softly.

"You should be proud," he gently chided her. "You played a big part in this."

"All in a millenium's work," she joked.

He shook his head slowly.

She grinned lazily.

"Now I can live a somewhat _normal_ life."

He scowled.

"Not until after the reception. What are you going to do until then?"

She frowned. Heero thought that any time that they spent together was only temporary, and why not? How _else_ had they been living?

She took a deep breath, held it, let it out slowly.

"We could get married," she suggested.

But it wasn't _really_ a suggestion.

Heero froze. He hadn't quite believed what he had just heard.

_"What?"_

"We could run away. Just the three of us."

"Are you _crazy?_ And besides, you have to be at the reception."

She scowled.

"Says _who_?"

 _"Relena,"_ he said warningly.

"My job is over," she pointed out.

"Not until after the reception," he said firmly.

She frowned.

"So your answer is _no_."

He rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say that. In fact, I didn't say _anything_."

"I think I can handle it if I got into trouble for skipping the reception. I have something more important to attend to. My life. With you and the baby."

"Relena, you just can't drop out of the public eye."

"Oh yes I can. This isn't my moment any more. In fact, it stopped being mine the instant the vote count started. Maybe it was over when the various heads of states decided to agree upon the treaty. My job is _over_ , Heero."

"But-"

"My job is _over_."

In other words, once again the next move was his.

"Dammit."

"I'm not asking you to move into my house, or sign your life over to me. Both of us have made great sacrifices to be here like this. I don't want to force you into doing something that you don't want to do. And stop cursing in front of the baby."

"You cursed enough during his birth."

"Don't start."

He exhaled. Relena run away? That was an uncharacteristic move for her. And for him to even be _considering_ running away with her...

 _I'm_ considering _it?_

"You're _crazy_ ," he said again, but he meant both of them this time. " _This_ is crazy."

"What's wrong, don't you _like_ challenges?" she challenged him, knowing full well that he _loved_ challenges.

He aimed a glare at one of the biggest challenges of his entire life.

"I _would_ have to move into your house. But I want to be left alone for the most part, and I want to remain able to come and go as I please."

"Oh, of _course._ "

"Don't make promises you don't intend to keep," he warned her.

She ignored the tone of voice.

_He's weakening._

"I'm _not_. You'll have your own office. You can even be in charge of estate security. How's _that_ for a dowry?"

"That's not funny," he grumbled. "I have nothing to offer you-"

"Yourself has suited me fine so far."

He didn't want to start an argument. Not _now_ , anyhow. Later he might make an attempt, when they were alone...in _her_ bed.

"Dammit."

"It'd be an exchanging of vows, nothing more. Your life is still your own. I just want you to _not_ feel like an intruder whenever you're in the house."

"You don't want to be a hit-and-run victim anymore."

She gasped. Her eyes blazed.

_"Heero!"_

She would have gotten up, scooped the baby up and stormed out, but he stopped her by grabbing one of her ankles.

"Listen to me. If I marry someone it wouldn't be to make them look good. Understand?"

She exhaled.

"I want us to be able to be together without any restrictions."

He grimaced.

 _And yet I'm_ still _considering it._

She shrugged and wriggled out of his grip while reaching for Baby Heero.

"I understand your hesitation. Like I said, I don't want to force you. It was just something that...would be nice."

He exhaled.

"That's true, at least."

"It would be an unpublicized secret."

"I _know_ that," he snapped, annoyed with himself that he was _still_ considering it.

Relena sat up cross-legged and snuggled the baby against her chest.

"I _know_ that you know. I was just saying..."

She exhaled.

"Fine. Dammit. I love you. I like being with you like this. I'd like it if we could be together like this for the rest of our lives. That's my argument for this."

He couldn't help it. He grinned s-l-o-w-l-y.

She deliberately ignored the grin.

"But if you don't want us to exchange vows, then I guess that we'll have to go on the same way that we have been, because I'm not letting you go-"

 _That_ was what he wanted to hear. He gripped her shoulders and leaned in for a long kiss, then snatched his mouth away and briefly pressed it to Baby Heero's head.

Breathlessly, she asked: "And what was _that_?"

He kissed her forehead.

"You got yourself a deal, lady."

-GWFI1F-

 

"Excuse me. Ex _cuse_ me," Quatre said over and over again as he made his way through at least two of the six hundred people at the official celebration reception.

 _Where_ are _you guys?_

Duo, Trowa and a handful of Magnanacs were also somewhere in this crowd, but Quatre had no idea of where.

When had this mob madness started? During or just after the first bottles of wine and champagne had been eagerly drained, when someone had said something that someone else had found offensive and it nearly came to blows?

The excitement over the reason for this reception had dulled a little after that, but the food was still being eaten, the drinks were still flowing and, where there was room, couples (and some singles) were still dancing to the live-orchestral band music.

"Ex _cuse_ me, _please._ "

Relena was also nowhere to be seen. Had she even shown her face, or had she not come at all?

_You're not missing anything, Miss Relena._

No, she hadn't come. If she had, everyone would be more or less behaving. She had that effect on people.

But she could at least show her face.

"Oh, wait, Quatre, oops, Mister Winner," began a young woman somewhere on his right, "We've been asking each other all night. Where is Miss Relena?"

Quatre scowled. He was so sick and tired of hearing that question that he wanted to yell.

"I'm sorry. But as I said before, I really don't know where she is."

"But she needs to be here!" a man somewhere to his left protested.

Quatre winced and waited to be barraged with Relena-related protests and questions for the umpteeth time this night.

" _Why_ don't you know where she is?" "Aren't you two an item?" "You _have_ been seen in restaurants and coffee shops, so don't lie to us!" "Is she resting?" "It's not yet _time_ for her to rest!" "Is she going to be late?" "Did you come here with someone else?" "But that would mean that they broke up!" "They weren't together in the _first_ place! I was there! They just discussed business. _I_ know when something's going on between two people!" "Is she seeing someone, is that why she's not here?" "Where _is_ she?"

"Ex _cuse_ me, _please!_ "

" _Quatre._ "

A hand grabbed his elbow.

"Come _on._ Let's get out of here."

Quatre blinked rapidly.

"Trowa?" he whispered.

The voice didn't respond. Quatre mentally shrugged his shoulders and let the hand lead the way.

_As long as I get out of here._

"Ex _cuse_ me, coming through," the voice commanded rather than announced.

Quatre smiled.

 _It_ is _you, Trowa. But where's Duo? Oh, hold your questions until you're safe, Quatre..._

He should have known. Trowa rarely didn't know where Quatre was.

"Okay, Quatre...open the door."

Quatre gasped. He hadn't realized that he had been closer to an exit than he had thought. But how _could_ he have realized, with so many people in this ballroom?

The hand let his elbow go. Quatre frowned. He didn't feel quite as safe any longer.

He shrugged again, walked the short distance to the door and opened it, letting in fresh air and-

He waited for cameras to flash and voices to want to get too close.

-safety.

"Phew..."

"Master Quatre!"

"Hey, Quatre..."

Quatre followed the sound of Duo's tired tone to a wall, against which Duo was sagging.

"Duo? Are you all right?"

"I feel like I've been saved from drowning."

Duo made a disgusted face.

" _Man!_ It was _crazy_ in there. Two of your bodyguards-" he indicated which two -"grabbed my arms and yanked me out."

Quatre smiled at the six Magnanacs that had come to the reception, including Rashid, who was observing the area in case trouble decided to approach.

"Thanks. _All_ of you."

Trowa was looking him over.

"You okay?"

Quatre wiped his forehead with a palm, then nodded.

"Yeah. I think I need some water, though."

Duo scowled.

"From that fountain back there? Oh, wait. They charge far too much for a bottle of the stuff in the cafeteria anyway, and it might be the same stuff. So go ahead. We'll wait."

"Need someone to go with you?" Trowa asked. "Just in case."

Quatre shook his head.

"I'll be fine."

"Okay, but if you're not back in two minutes, we're coming after you," Duo half-joked.

Quatre chuckled, then walked towards the fountain.

"Oh-okay."

 _They worry so much about me. But is it_ me _they're worried about, or my status? No, that's ridiculous. I mean so much to all of them. I can't disrespect them by doubting their sincerity._

"Oh - excuse me, Mister Quatre."

"Wha-"

Before he could stop himself, Quatre bumped into Clarisa Raven David's left side.

"No, excuse _me_. It was entirely my fault. I was distracted, and not looking where I was going..."

He froze. The 18-year-old Clarisa was the daughter of the very prominent Senator Lanson Jason David, who was somewhere in the crowd that Quatre had escaped from.

Senator David, who lived in one of the Colonies when he wasn't making appearances and impassioned anti-war speeches, was only slightly more famous than Quatre, a situation the older man wanted changed and quickly.

Quatre had no problems with that. In fact, Quatre frequently refused "big appointments" in favor of the Senator.

Unfortunately, his modesty only added to his popularity.

In several ways Quatre was glad that the treaty had been ratified. He could rest now, at least for a while, and let the Senator, and others like him, battle over popularity's spotlight.

But here was the daughter in front of him now.

 _Here's trouble,_ Quatre thought ruefully.

Clarisa was in a very exclusive private school most of the time, which kept her beauty and very nice figure out of the public eye.

Quatre had reacted to her jet black shoulder length-haired, dark brown-eyed beauty more than to her status in life.

He regretted that now.

"Have you run away from the insanity as well, Quatre?" she asked him, her voice reflecting the personality of someone who knew that there was more to life than being shut away from most of what life had to offer but not really being able to do anything about it.

Quatre could only nod.

She further unsettled him by smiling at him.

Quatre stared at the smile as his heart began to pound in his ears and his hands became slick with perspiration.

_What's happening to me?_

Clarisa cocked her head to one side.

_Sucker._

She blinked rapidly. The smile faltered a little.

"Quatre, you're _staring_ at me."

He jerked.

"Sorry. I am so very, very sorry. But you are well aware that you are a very beautiful young woman."

_And I think that I'm falling in love with you._

Clarisa considered the situation.

 _I need some excitement. He could be it. And being seen with him will generate some interesting publicity. Nah, for_ get _about the publicity. We need to stay hidden. It'd only be for a few minutes! And he needs some excitement too. Dear me, he doesn't even have a_ life.

She reached out to lightly touch his hand.

Quatre gasped and drew back. His body and heart were betraying him, but he still had _some_ sense left.

"Please don't do that. We don't know each other."

She frowned.

"We're certainly not strangers."

"We're nothing more than acquainted through your father."

"Oh, come on. Both of you are glued to your jobs. At least you and I can have some fun while he's in there politicking the night away."

Quatre quirked an eyebrow.

"What kind of _fun_ did you have in mind?"

She drew back this time.

"Certainly not something _too_ stupid or dangerous. It could be something as simple as having tea in the dark in the cafeteria."

"No, thank you."

"Oh come _on!_ I'm not going to _bite_ you. I'm watched all the time too, you know."

"It's not that and you know it."

"So I'll keep the lights on. Come on. Two minutes away from _them_ isn't going to hurt either of us any."

"You're pretty persistent. Why _me?_ "

"Because, deep in your heart, you know that you want to have some unadulterated fun. You're still young, Quatre. Why not have some unadulterated tea while you still can, with someone you can trust?"

"I trust very few people."

"Oh, that's not the point and you know it. _Please?_ "

She turned the full force of her smile on Quatre, who winced and turned away.

She grabbed his hand.

"Come on, Quatre. For _me?_ "

"Wait-" he began, but she was already dragging him further down the hallway.

He mentally shrugged.

 _They'll follow. I'll be okay. And I'm with_ her. _What could happen?_

-GWFI1F-

 

The stars twinkled down upon the four people atop one of the flat man-made hills in the grassy, verdant, perinially blooming Isis Park.

Father Testor shook his head slowly about every five seconds. Relena Darlian, her intended, and their baby son were a few feet away from him - and no one was supposed to know about it.

And just what _was_ the nonsense about _him_ taking _her_ last name - well, _adoptive_ last name, but that was besides the point. Heero had a last name of his own, didn't he? Orphan or not, real name or not - and _that_ was _another_ thing. Why did these young people want to be registered under the name "Mr. and Mrs. _Mayoke_ Darlian"? And why were there no rings?

Miss Relena had explained the situation to him again as the four of them had headed to this park in the abandoned, nearly literally falling apart car that Heero had found and patched up an hour or so ago. But the priest _still_ didn't understand it.

 _"He really admired my father - I mean my_ adoptive _father. How better to honor his memory by having Heero take on his last name?"_

Oh sure. _Right._

 _But,_ Father Testor was holding the hurriedly prepared but accurate appropriate paperwork, and the admitted bribe of a forthcoming contribution to his church was additional motivation to perform one of the most historic ceremonies of all time.

Still...

Baby Heero had been staring and reaching for at the sky ever since the four of them had gotten out of the car. Now, the three-month-old struggled against his father's left shoulder to get a better view. As Heero re-steadied him, their eyes met and held for a few heart-touching seconds.

Relena looked at them, smiled fondly, then returned her excited, nervous and hopeful gaze to Father Testor, who heaved a sigh.

"I get the point, Miss Relena. But _you_ must understand, this is _highly_ unconventional."

"Historic," Heero softly agreed, following the baby's gaze for about two seconds.

Relena briefly pursed her lips.

"I've already explained the situation to you, sir. Uh, Father."

He nodded.

" _Yes,_ but-"

"Say the words," Heero said softly enough, but there was a touch of impatience in his voice that made the priest nervous.

Actually, Heero himself made the priest nervous. The younger man was a perpetual storm waiting to happen.

 _What does she_ see _in him? Well, he_ is _gentle with her and their son. But what about everyone else?_

He shook his head slowly yet again.

 _Is this a Test? Oh, Almighty One, why_ me? _On tonight of all nights?_

Baby Heero briefly stopped staring to reach for his mother.

"Okay, baby, Mama's got you..."

He settled against her chest and resumed staring at and reaching for the sky.

"Say the words," Heero said again, less softly this time.

The priest exhaled.

"This is too irregular."

Heero's eyes narrowed a little.

"It's not _your_ responsibility."

Relena exhaled.

"Father, if you don't want to do this-"

"Cancel the check," Heero half-joked.

Relena gasped.

_"Heero!"_

"You didn't bring any checkbooks with you anyway."

"And you would know that _how?_ "

His eyes twinkled for a second.

"Never mind."

Testor cleared his throat.

"Uhm, yes, well..."

"Say the words," Heero said again, a touch dangerously this time.

Relena winced.

"Heero, _don't._ "

"I'm not going to do anything but wait for this guy to say the magic words."

" _Magic_ words? Uhm, well, anyway-"

"I'm not armed."

"You're _always_ armed."

"And you would know that _how?_ "

"Never mind."

Heero half-smiled as she blushed.

"Ah- _hem_ ," Father Testor began, "we are gathered here tonight to witness-"

" _Finally._ "

"Don't interrupt the man, Relena."

"Sorry. But it _is_ just _us._ "

"You have a point, but I don't know...the kid's reaching for the stars again."

"Maybe we should be doing this in space."

" _We_ are gathered here tonight to witness the joining of this man to this woman. Marriage is not-"

"Never mind that. Just say the magic words."

"Heero, what did you just tell me not what to do?"

"He doesn't need to lecture us."

"It's _not_ a lecture. It's a reminder of how serious this is."

"Could anything be more serious than what we've gone through to get here?"

"That was _beautiful._ "

"Hold it, it's not time for _that_ yet."

"I _would_ say that it _certainly_ isn't, but-"

"Just say the magic words, _padre_."

"Well! Hmph. I'll just get right to it, then."

"It's about damned time."

_"Heero..."_

"Heero, do you take Relena-"

"Sorry, but he wants his father again. Goodness!"

"-do you take Relena to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"She's my woman, isn't she?"

" _Heero_...though that _was_ almost flattering."

"Geeze...yes."

"Do you promise to love, honor and respect her, through richer and through poorer, through sickness and in health, through strife and through peacetime, and will you remain hers, as long as you both shall live?"

" _Answer_ the man, Heero."

"It's the way it's worded that I'm having a problem with."

"That's a _yes,_ Father."

"I gathered that. Now. Relena, do you take Heero to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"No kidding."

" _Heero._ "

"I've always said that you always know what you want."

"You're too kind. I made a good choice, huh?"

"You have good taste in some things."

" _Some_ things?"

"Do you promise to love, honor and respect him, through richer and through poorer, through sickness and in health-"

"Do we _have_ to go through all of this again?"

"Relena, if you interrupt him _one more time_ -"

"He wants his mother again."

"-through strife and through peacetime, and will you remain his, for as long as you both shall live?"

"You didn't say-"

_"Relena."_

"Yes. I do."

Father Testor restrained a grin.

_So it works both ways._

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Mayoke Darlian. You may now-"

"It's about damned time."

" _Relena_...Mmmmm....."

"Mmmm- _hmmmm._ "

"A _hem_. I will now sign your license and certificate...and...I will...register your names in the books-"

"Thanks, I'll take those."

"Heero, what kind of example are you setting for our son?"

"He's not even paying attention."

" _Okay_. When we renew our vows we're doing it in space."

"Why go through this _again?_ Once is enough and besides, haven't I already told you that I'll always protect you and the kid?"

"Oh, _Heero._ "

"Get sentimental later. _Much_ later."

"I, um, hear you. Father Testor, thank you - he's gone. How _rude_."

Heero shook his head slowly, then grinned.

"He'll send his appreciation of our appreciation when he gets the check."

She grinned back.

"Guess I better write it, then."

He placed a palm on her back and guided his wife and son -

 _My_ wife. _Dammit, are we_ really _ready for this?_

\- off of the hill.

"Do it tomorrow."

She nodded.

_We're actually married. We legally belong to each other now._

"Remind me to call Quatre, to hear how it went."

He groaned.

_"Tomorrow."_

She frowned thoughtfully.

"And _tonight?_ "

"It's _your_ night off."

She grinned deviously.

"Dear?"

He winced.

The grin deepened.

"I'd like to watch the stars. And then..."

"Yeah?" He was interested despite himself.

"And _then_ , we can watch the video of the reception..."

He rolled his eyes.

"..in _our_ bedroom," she finished.

Heero grinned v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.

"Yes, _dear._ "

-GWFI1F-

Clarisa and Quatre faced each other over tea across a table in the cafeteria slash breakroom.

"I really like you, Quatre."

It was true. At first she had thought that he was a human toy, someone easily taken advantage of, but her time with him had shown her otherwise.

He blushed and lowered his head.

"Thanks. I like you, too."

He was getting over his initial reaction to her. But the crush and the budding lust remained.

 _I can't help it. She_ affects _me._

They each took a sip of tea.

"Do you think that-" she began.

"I have to get back. I'll be missed."

"Oh come on. One more adventure."

He shook his head.

"I'm _expected._ "

"But you made your speech already. What more is there for you to do?"

"Maybe you don't understand."

"I have an _inkling._ Remember who my father is?"

" _Exactly_ why I should go back. _Now._ "

She scowled.

_I'm not ready to let you go yet._

"At _least_ let me show you around."

He heaved a sigh.

"All right. If it means _that_ much to you."

"It does. Now let's go."

-GWFI1F-

"Any sign of him?"

"I don't get it! I _know_ they went around this corner."

Trowa, Duo, Rashid and another Magnanac were on Quatre's trail.

The other accompanying Magnanacs were separately searching throughout the building.

Duo lightly punched a wall.

"I _truly_ don't get it."

"No," Trowa snapped, but his annoyance was aimed at Clarisa and at himself, for not knowing where Quatre was.

Rashid exhaled.

"We have to find Master Quatre _now_. I don't trust Miss Clarisa."

Duo winced.

"Poor Quatre. Done in by a pretty face."

Trowa's expression softened slightly.

"It can happen to anyone," he pointed out.

"But this is _Raven_ ," Duo pointed out, "the personification of the reputation of the bird."

"She knows we're on the trail. She won't hurt Quatre. And besides, she really isn't all _that_ bad."

Duo shrugged.

"I'll take your word for it - hey, Trowa, you okay, man?"

Trowa had stiffened. His eyes were slitted.

Duo followed his gaze, saw nothing out of the ordinary, looked around, then returned his own gaze to Trowa.

"Let's _go_ ," Trowa said.

-GWFI1F-

Quatre was so angry with both Clarisa and himself that it took him at least four minutes to finish buttoning his shirt.

 _I can_ NOT _believe what just happened._

But he couldn't resist a smile as he snuck a peek at Clarisa, who was also having problems finishing dressing.

 _It_ was _good, though._

Clarisa didn't know whether to be pleased or angry. She hadn't _intended_ what had happened to happen. She and Quatre had been conversing in a hallway, he had seen an ajar stotage room door with its overhead sensor light on, he had made an inane joke about the mysteries of the semi-dark, and...one thing had led to another.

 _I just know that I'm_ terrified.

She snuck a peek at Quatre.

 _It_ is _the quiet ones that you have to watch out for._

He caught her eye.

"Heh..."

" _Hmm._ "

"Uhm...are you all right?" he shakily whispered.

She glared at him.

"No, I am _not_ all right. How _dare_ you take advantage of me like this?"

"Shhhh. And ex _cuse_ me? _You_ said _yes_."

" _Shhhh!_ And what if...oh, you _idiot._ "

She looked away.

He exhaled.

" _If,_ I'll do my part-"

"Oh, you think it's _that_ easy, do you?"

"I live up to my responsibilities," he said irritably. She'd offended him.

She knew him well enough to know that this was true. It made it harder to blame him.

"I'll be there," he said softly, having sensed her thoughts.

"Only because you can afford it," she spat, then winced. "I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I-"

"I'll ignore that," he whispered.

She winced again.

"But...you _do_ realize what we've done, don't you?"

"We lay down and raised hell," he whispered. "And now, it's-"

Someone knocked on the locked door.

"You in there?" Duo whispered shakily.

Quatre sagged a little.

"Duo...." he whispered.

Duo exhaled, turned around and leaned on the door.

"Man...you two are in deep, _deep_ trouble."

Trowa put a palm on the door.

"Quatre, are you all right?"

Clarisa burst into tears.

Trowa winced and sighed.

"We have to do this quietly-"

"Uh oh," Duo said warningly.

"CLARISA!"

Senator David, his wife Carissa and their ten personal bodyguards were heading straight for the door.

Trowa winced again.

" _Oh_ , sh-"

"Deeper than _that_ , man," Duo said grimly.

"Get off that door," the bodyguard closest to them commanded.

"Get the _hell_ away from my daughter," the Senator commanded.

Trowa's eyes flashed.

Duo patted his shoulder.

"Let us out," an eerily calm Quatre requested.

The Senator's jaw dropped. He staggered and flung a palm over his heart.

"YOU!" he bellowed.

"So much for quiet," Duo whispered in disgust.

-GWFI1F-

It was a nightmare of cameras of all types, floodlights, far too many questions, minor fistfights, accusations, arguments, yelling and screaming.

When the proverbial dust cleared nearly three hours later, everyone else in the building, passersby and a mob of mediapeople watched the two unfortunate stars of the evening each get led towards a limousine under heavy protection.

But Senator David wasn't finished yet.

"You'll never see her again, vile, disgusting-"

"LANSON!" his wife screamed in protest.

"-CHARLATAN! You FALSE PROPHET OF PEACE! Get OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

Clarisa unsuccessfully tried to reach her father.

"But DADDY!"

"You're too young to understand, honey, now why don't you just get into the car?"

"But it was CONSENSU-"

"Be QUIET!"

His wife screamed again as the Senator slapped his daughter's cheek.

"LANSON! You SLAPPED her! I want a DIVORCE!"

Clarisa was too shocked to cry. She'd never been disciplined so severely before.

"You'll have NOTHING OF THE SORT! Now come ON, we're LEAVING."

Lanson personally practically shoved his wife and daughter into the limousine, then turned to face the "audience" and, waving a forefinger, announced:

"You people will be lucky if I even THINK about coming to this planet again, with HIM on it!"

He had to point to the rapidly vacating back of Quatre's limousine to unnecessarily indicate who he was talking about, but it didn't matter.

As the crowd finally broke up, in mixed moods about the "situation", the Senator grinned evilly before getting into his limousine.

"Winner, you're _finished._ You'll never work anywhere a _gain_."

-GWFI1F-

Heero, his hair damp and wearing a navy blue terry bathrobe, saw the newspapers before he saw the breakfast table.

WINNER'S A LOSER? one asked.

CELEBRATION MARRED BY MISTAKE, another said.

SAD SITUATION, another said.

A NEW MILLENIUM IS NIGH! yet another announced, in the colors of the rainbow.

Duo had sent Heero an explanatory email earlier this morning, but Heero scowled, sat down, and grabbed the SAD SITUATION newspaper anyhow.

Thomas the butler came over from the kitchen to pour the tea.

"Good morning, Master Heero," he tried to say brightly, but failed.

"'Morning," Heero absentmindedly replied.

_Did we ask too much of you, Quatre?_

"Congratulations and welcome, _sir_ ," Thomas said through gritted teeth. "How are we to address you in public, _sir_?"

Heero scowled.

_Getting an early start, Thomas?_

"Where is he now?" he asked, face still behind the newspaper.

Thomas scowled.

"We lost track of him after he left the village, _sir_."

"That's _impossible,_ " Heero snapped. " _Find_ him."

Thomas' hands curled into fists.

"Don't talk to _me_ like that, scruffy one-"

Heero lowered the newspaper. Five seconds later Relena, wearing a yellow terry bathrobe, a damp French braid and a scowl, appeared in the doorway.

Her husband's eyes twinkled before he blushed.

"'Morning," he said in a rush, and the newspaper went back up.

" _Stop_ it, _both_ of you," she commanded. "Good morning."

"Good morning, _Miss_ Relena," Thomas managed to say brightly.

She ignored that.

"You haven't found him yet?"

"Sorry," Heero said.

"No, madam," Thomas said, and glared at Heero.

She sagged and heaved a sigh.

"Well, then..."

The newspaper fluttered to the floor as Heero rushed over to comfort Relena.

"We'll find him," he said softly, and kissed the top of her head.

Thomas narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean, _we?_ The only thing _you_ have done so far is insult this house with your presence-"

One of the maids rushed into the room.

"Master Heero, Master Heero!"

Thomas' expression darkened.

 _He's taken over already, and he hasn't even_ done _anything yet!_

Heero gave the butler a quick warning look before addressing the maid.

"What is it, Joyce?"

An exhausted, saddened Quatre walked into the doorway.

"It's me."

-GWFI1F-

Relena settled Quatre down with a cup of tea while Heero closed the door, closed the windows and drew the curtains.

Thomas watched this with a sour expression.

 _He_ knew _that the Little Prince would come here sooner or later! He sent us on a wild goose chase just to make it look good. But it_ did _show us that our ability to find people isn't as excellent as it should be. Hmph. He's too smart for his age._

Quatre sighed. He wished that Heero hadn't closed the windows. The breeze had felt good.

"You knew..." he began.

Heero and Relena sat on opposites sides of him.

Thomas walked over to clear the table.

_Damn him, damn him, damn him...._

Quatre sipped his tea, shuddered, took another sip, then sighed again.

"You knew that I was going to come here. You know that this is the only place that I could feel...safe. Oh, I've made such a mess of things."

"Shhh, rest now. We'll talk later," Relena insisted.

Heero shook his head.

"Better that he gets it out now. What happened, Quatre? Was it something in the wine?"

Quatre chuckled softly.

"I know Duo sent you an email...by the way, congratulations. At least the night ended happily for _someone_."

Heero and Relena jerked. They'd forgotten that this was the first full day of their marriage.

"Never mind that," Relena said once they'd recovered. "What's important now is your well-being."

Heero nodded.

"Stay here as long as you need to."

Thomas jerked.

_How dare he!_

Quatre shuddered again.

"Are you _sure_ about that?"

Relena nodded firmly.

"Of _course_ we are."

Heero glanced at the door.

_Some of the staff are listening. They followed him. That gives me an idea._

"Quatre, where are _they?_ "

Quatre hunched his shoulders.

"Right outside, by now," he said sheepishly.

"Quatre!" Relena gasped, then sighed.

Heero nodded, then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Relena asked, although she already knew.

He briefly rested a hand on Quatre's shoulder.

""Have a guest room prepared for him."

"Where _are_ you going?" Quatre asked him.

Heero flashed him a grin.

"To help you get your life back."

-GWFI1F-

From a living room window, Thomas glared at the sight of Heero talking to Rashid and 20 other Magnanacs in the back garden.

 _How_ dare _he! He's going too far now._

It was bad enough that the estate had another unwelcome mouth to feed. To practically invite several more to move in was completely unacceptable.

"Mister Whestcott?"

Quatre stood in the doorway.

Thomas scowled before turning to face him and bowing - and then wondered why he had bowed.

Quatre looked better now. The tea, a small meal, a shower and fresh clothing had brightened his outlook on life somewhat.

It had also brought back the quiet aura of leadership that commanded nearly immediate respect, although Quatre was not in the mood to do anything besides restore his battered spirit.

"Yes, Master Winner?"

Quatre jerked his chin at the window Thomas was at.

"They're out there."

Thomas nodded, then turned to look out of the window again.

"Yes, young sir."

_There I go again._

Quatre exhaled.

"His strength is needed here."

Thomas half-smiled.

"One would think that _your_ strength is needed here."

Quatre walked towards the window.

"I know what he's doing, but I'm not sure that I want him to do it."

"It would help to restore your confidence, wouldn't it?"

 _It should be_ me! I _should be the one to do it. Am_ I _not in charge of the staff?_

Quatre exhaled again.

"Heero's instincts have never failed him, although he hasn't always wanted to listen to them."

"Oh?" This _really_ interested Thomas.

Quatre sighed.

_Sorry, Thomas._

"I should just relax and trust him."

"You have _that_ much faith in him? _He_ should be looking up to _you._ "

Despite himself, Thomas was beginning to respect Quatre.

Quatre rested a palm on the window.

"It's not a matter of adulation."

Thomas' eyes narrowed. Quatre had said that particular word on purpose.

Quatre lowered his head for a second, then returned his gaze to the males on the lawn.

"One tends to rely on Heero."

Thomas waited for more, but that apparently had been it; Quatre continued to watch the scene without further comment.

_He's wise beyond his years, but he's still just a young man. Maybe too much was asked of him and he pushed back. In any case, he's proven that he too is only human._

But Thomas _still_ didn't like Quatre, or the scruffy men that had come all the way from their village just to take him back there.

And he _really_ didn't like what Heero was talking to the men about. He couldn't hear the words, but he knew full well what was going on.

 _Isn't HEION good enough for you? And aren't there_ professionals _that can do it? Dammit, Heero! How_ dare _you come here and just assume that you are automatically the lord and master of this estate! You don't even have any claims on it, under_ either _of your names! But that's quite all right, young sir. One day, my footprint will be on the seat of the pants that you'll have to change out of before you leave._

-GWFI1F-

"So, will you do it?" Heero asked the Magnanacs, his gaze lingering on Rashid.

The men looked at each other, at Rashid, at each other again, and then nodded.

Rashid nodded and stuck a hand out for Heero to shake.

"We'll talk about it amongst ourselves tonight. But I'm sure that we'll all be in agreement. Just let us know when."

"Any friend of Master Quatre's is a friend of ours!" one of the other Magnanacs asserted, waving a fist in the air.

"It would be an _honor_ to do this," said another.

"Yeah," said another, "a real honor to keep an eye on -"

" _Watch_ it," said the one that had spoken first.

"-Master Quatre and his friends in this estate," the other finished.

"We _are_ extensively trained," Rashid said, in case Thomas was reading lips.

Heero nodded.

"A few of you will do for now, since most of the Earth Force is here. But some of them will leave for missions tomorrow, so..."

Rashid nodded.

"Yes. We all want to make sure that Master Quatre is as safe as possible..."

He checked his watch.

"Will five-thirty be all right? He usually wakes up anytime between five forty-five and six-fifteen."

Heero nodded again.

"That's fine."

Rashid stuck his hand out again.

"Well, until then, we're leaving him in your hands."

Heero grinned as he shook it.

"We may very well be in _his_ hands, once he's himself again."

All of the males laughed out loud at that, more so because it was true.

"Better make that _five_ ," Rashid said between chuckles.

Heero grinned again.

"Five it is."

He stuck out a hand for Rashid to shake.

"Until tomorrow, then."

Rashid nodded, then shook the hand.

"Yes, sir, Master Heero."

As the Magnanacs left, Heero turned to look directly at Thomas.

Thomas glared at him.

Quatre bowed his head.

Heero scowled.

 _Get used to it, Thomas. Because I'm not going anywhere else anytime soon. And until otherwise notified, neither is_ he.

-GWFI1F-

_"Grrraaaaahhh!"_

Senator Lanson David swept a hand over the desk in his home office, sending newspaper issues, photograph frames, writing pads and notebooks, one of the two telephones and pens and pencils crashing to the carpeted floor.

He'd underestimated Quatre's popularity.

All had been well and fine for the Senator the previous night when his yells had brought mediapeople rushing to the scene of the shame, but now that things had calmed down, the doubts of Quatre's guilt were mixing in with the denials of his innocence.

Lanson didn't understand. This was _his_ moment. _His_ daughter had been charmed and then irreparably corrupted by the false prophet of peace.

 _Former_ false prophet, that was. Appropriately, earlier this morning, his family had issued a press release stating that since there was now peace between Earth and the Colonies, Quatre was retiring to private life. And no mediapeople visits in any way, please.

But where _was_ Quatre?

He seemed to have disappeared once his limousine had left the vicinity of the crime. Both privately and otherwise, many people were looking for him, but there had yet to be _any_ sign or clue as to his whereabouts.

Had he literally gone underground?

" _Hmph._ "

Lanson grabbed the receiver off the only item on his desk.

"Where is he?" he demanded of it.

"We've lost him, sir. We think he's gone underground," an almost depressed young man's voice answered.

" _WHAT?!"_ Lanson yelled, then stood up so quickly that it briefly disturbed his equilibrium. "I don't pay any of you to _think!_ _FIND HIM!_ "

He didn't need to say why finding Quatre was so important, but it was reflected in the young man's voice as he said: "But sir, you don't understand. There's no trace of him _anywhere_. The trail is _cold._ "

Lanson plunked his empty palm on the desk.

"You traced the tag. You know the direction. You are right. I _don't_ understand."

"Sir...all we can do is keep looking."

"Don't _bother._ "

Lanson hung up, sat down, exhaled, then took the receiver off again and dialled a number.

"Get me the police."

-GWFI1F-

"...and this is....our bedroom."

Quatre simultaneously held his breath and adjusted his hold on Baby Heero as Relena opened the door.

It felt strange and yet _proper_ that she was giving him a tour of the _entire_ estate, from the hidden sub-bases of Earth Base HEION to Relena's very private wing of the "Dorlian Estate", the new Northfield Gardens.

 _I_ am _going to work here after all, at least temporarily. I owe them so much for this._

Above everything else, to see the nondescript but amazingly advanced technology and the phenomenal staff of the Base, and the complementary mixture of the ancient, the old, the contemporary, the luxurious and the new of the house was a privileged honor.

 _She definitely has her share of feminine style. But either she knows her limits where males are concerned, or she snuck Heero's persona into the blueprints._ Any _man could feel at home here. But parts of this estate are_ definitely _tailored towards someone of_ his _temperament,_ Quatre thought as he stepped into the bedroom.

 _"Aaaaaaaa,"_ Baby Heero said, and poked a finger into Quatre's jaw.

He had been saying that every few minutes or so ever since Relena had introduced Quatre to him. Quatre didn't care _what_ anyone else said. He was _sure_ that the baby was trying to say his name.

Quatre couldn't resist a smile as he set Baby Heero on his back on the king-sized bed just as Relena was beginning to show him the what, where, how and why in the room.

The baby's eyes followed Relena's every move.

"He's protecting you too," Quatre said fondly.

Relena blew the baby a kiss.

"I don't doubt it. He's so much like Heero that-"

The intercom, which was next to the lamp on Heero's side of the bed, buzzed.

Quatre's eyes narrowed as Relena frowned, then shook her head slowly.

Baby Heero frowned, not much to Quatre's surprise.

"What is it?" Relena called out.

"The local branch is on the way," replied an irritated-sounding Heero.

Quatre winced.

"I _knew_ it. He's had people looking for me, they couldn't find me, so he's trying to make it look good by having the police go from door to door in each neighborhood."

Heero exhaled.

"Not _each_ neighborhood. The Senator's suspicious. He doesn't have the same level of faith in Relena's reputation as most people have."

Relena scowled.

" _Do_ please take care of it, won't you?"

"I'm already there. Later."

Relena sighed, sagged a little, then rolled her eyes.

"The _nerve_ of some people."

Quatre half-smiled.

"He wants to destroy me for what I've done."

She whirled to glare at him.

"It's not entirely _your_ fault."

Quatre nodded.

"I know. But from _his_ point of view...anyway, I'm willing to bet that Clarisa's the only thing keeping him from seeking me out himself to punish me personally. What a _coup_ that would be for his publicity if he _could_ ," he finished sarcastically.

Relena looked him over.

"Neither one of you is in love with the other. What has she done to keep you in one piece?"

Quatre's eyes narrowed slightly. How could Relena know that his heart was still his own?

"She cares about me. I would have known that even if she _hadn't_ told her father that it was -" he glanced at the baby "- a voluntary act. I care about her, too. But you're right, it's not love. In any case, it's her caring about me that's keeping me alive. The Senator must _really_ hate me now. And nine months or so from now -"

"All you can do is your best to be ready for the almost certain private announcement."

He nodded, then winced.

"I told her that I'll be there. That won't change. I live up to my responsibilities."

"As we well know," she said softly.

He focused his gaze on the non-lit candle and crystal chandelier and decided to change the subject.

"What's Heero going to do?"

She smiled confidently.

"His job."

-GWFI1F-

"And who are _you_ , young sir?" Northbranch Superior Inspector Charles Baptred asked the dark-haired, irritated young man leaning against the screen door and this preventing him from entering the main doorway of the house.

"Where's the search warrant?" Heero softly demanded.

Charles hesitated. His instincts told him to leave, but he had a job to do.

_How did they know that we were coming? HEION couldn't have traced the phone calls. They have to get the proper permission to do that. Either someone here did something underhanded or this young punk has a very good sense of smell, so to speak._

"Here," he said, digging into a jacket pocket and producing the documents. "And you _still_ haven't answered my question."

Heero took the documents and looked them over, frowned, leaned back to push the screen door open a little, gave them to someone unseen, then returned his gaze to the Inspector and his five-member "local branch" team as he stood up straight.

"Answer _mine_. Who told you that he's here?"

"We're looking all over, not just here."

Heero's eyes narrowed to slits, but he grinned.

" _Right._ "

Charles made a mental note of where his gun and handcuffs were.

"Young man, I'm giving you three seconds to cooperate-"

"Wait, sir, I've seen him around somewhere," said one of the local policemen, and walked over to get a better look.

Heero quirked an eyebrow and waited.

"Yeah," said the policeman, "I think he's Miss Relena's personal bodyguard. I've seen him shadow her a couple of times from back stages."

"Oh?" said the Inspector.

A smile briefly touched Heero's face.

_Someone who's only slightly less of an idiot than this man in charge._

"But that doesn't prevent him from jail time for obstruction," the Inspector said firmly. "And now, young man, you have the right to remain-"

"Wait," Heero said.

The Inspector couldn't _believe_ this. Wasn't this guy afraid of _anything?_

Heero leaned back again, reached out to someone unseen, then stood straight up again with the documents in hand.

"You're only authorized to look through the house. If you step towards anywhere else on this estate you and your guys here are looking at five to ten or more, depending on her mood."

 _So David doesn't have as much authority as he_ thinks _he does,_ the Inspector thought.

"And before you ask, she's not available. She's somewhere preparing her retirement speech. If you try to find her you'll have to deal with _them_ , since she's slated to go there this afternoon to give it."

"You could be harboring a criminal! That's five to ten or more for _you_ and the _entire_ HEION staff!"

"Do you _really_ think that Miss Relena would risk her reputation and her _entire_ staff in that way?"

The Inspector scowled. The punk had asked a very good question. And a police team on Miss Relena's lawn looked _awful_.

 _But I have a_ job _to do, dammit._

Heero stepped out of the doorway.

"But I can't stop you from looking around. I don't have the _authority_."

 _He said it that way on_ purpose, _to make me think that he's just a bodyguard. I don't trust him. But I can't_ prove _it_.

"Sir? _Are_ we going in?" another member of the team asked nervously.

Heero shrugged.

"I can ask the senior HEION security chief to verify whether or not Quatre is here. Unless you want to see for yourself."

The other men hesitated. Every police officer alive either knew this chief personally or had heard about him. He was a tough character and _not_ someone to be trifled with. To make things worse for those who considered making trouble for him, his staff, the estate or Relena, his word was binding in the courts.

He took orders from Relena, but he answered only to the person in charge of the New Alliance, who had recommended him for his job position - a wise decision, everyone who knew him agreed, whether or not they liked him.

Even Heero was wary of the man, which was why he had shrugged. He didn't want to disturb him, but if he _had_ to...

The Inspector mentally brushed himself off.

 _My hands are tied. David, you_ coward. _As long as_ your _hands are clean, right? Well, you know what? My job isn't worth this._

"If you've been giving him time to escape..."

"Don't be ridiculous."

The Inspector sighed, long and hard.

"Well, then...if _he_ says he isn't here-"

"Wait."

"If you say that again I'm taking you in."

Heero lifted some of the hair from his left temple to reveal the thin cordless "earset" that rested over the back of that ear.

"He just contacted me. He _does_ say that he's not here. But if you _still_ want to look-"

The Inspector waved a dismissive hand.

"I'll take his word for it."

Heero's eyes narrowed again.

"Your job isn't worth it, right?"

The Inspector glared at him.

"You _know,_ you are a _very_ rude punk."

"Nice guys don't make it in this business."

"Got an answer for _everything_ , don't you?"

"No."

"Come _on_ , sir, before we further overstay our welcome," said the nervous officer that had spoken before.

The Inspector looked Heero over, then nodded and turned around.

"Have a good one," Heero said with false enthusiasm.

The Inspector raised a hand and wiggled his fingers before walking away with his team.

 _He's_ extremely _protective of her._ I _think they're living together, but this guy looks like he wouldn't go for something like that. No, he's into things all the way. They're bound somehow, maybe_ legally _. But he knows I won't say anything about that. I'm a_ bit _of a nice guy._

Heero half-smiled before going back into the house.

 _You're a pawn. But at least you're not a_ stupid _pawn. See you around._ Maybe.

-GWFI1F-

Lanson David grimaced at Wufei as the Space Force HEION member delivered the last sack of the Senator's mail.

" _You_ wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

Wufei shook his head.

"Quatre? No, sir."

Lanson exhaled.

"Never mind. Anything interesting today?"

Wufei mentally grimaced.

 _As though_ I _would know, or care. As long as it's clean, I don't give a damn._

"Looks like the usual rush of fan mail, sir."

Lanson thought this comment was wonderful and hilarious. He laughed out loud and heartily.

"P-perhaps it is. Whoooo...."

He dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief.

Wufei dutifully grinned.

 _You are_ so _incredibly full of it._

He produced the requisite check in/signature pad and its accompanying sensor-pen.

"If you'll just sign here please, sir..."

Lanson frowned.

"You delivered fifteen boxes and three sacks of mail. They pay you proportionately, right?"

Wufei restrained the urge to slap the Senator.

"If I wasn't happy I'd leave."

Lanson shrugged before signing the pad in the appropriate area.

"Suit yourself....but there you go. Another successful delivery."

"Thanks. Have a good one."

_You won't if you find the letter that Quatre wrote to your daughter in there._

"Thanks, young man. You, too."

Wufei flashed him a grin before turning to leave.

_Jerk._

As he walked to his unmarked white van, a few of the telephones in David's house rang.

His eyes widened.

_Oh no._

He didn't know _how_ he knew, but he knew that Clarisa wouldn't see the nondescript #10 envelope before it was too late.

He drove just under the speed limit getting to the Dorlian estate.

-GWFI1F-

Lanson absentmindedly sat behind his desk and sorted through one of the letter-sacks as he waited for his wife to come to the phone on the other end.

He barely noticed the envelope for Clarisa with an out-of-area post office address on it. For all he knew, it could be another disguised event invitation, which Clarisa could deal with herself.

Carissa came on the line as he tossed the envelope on top of the smaller of the three piles in front of the desk.

"Lanson. Oh, it's _terrible,_ " Carissa sobbed.

His eyes widened.

_Oh NO._

"Dear, why are you crying?" he said as soothingly as he could manage.

" _Guess_ ," she said as though he were the universe's greatest idiot.

He exhaled. He didn't like being spoken to in such a manner.

"Calm yourself, Carissa."

" _DO_ something!" she cried.

"Mama, calm _down!_ " a nervous Clarissa shouted from somewhere in the distance.

" _NO!_ Your life is _RUINED!_ " Carissa screamed.

" _NO_ , there is something that can be done," Lanson said firmly. "We just have to-"

 _"NO!"_ Mother and daughter cried as one.

"Don't be _ridiculous_ ," Lanson snapped, not liking being interrupted, especially by females. "We have to go away."

"What about school? _I can't leave school!_ " Carissa yelled.

"Don't be _stupid_ , you can't go back to school!" Lanson nearly shouted, then exhaled and calmed down.

Someone _has to be the rock here._

"You don't realize what you have done to this family. But all is not lost."

"Really, Daddy?"

She was calmer now.

Lanson nodded.

"You have some mail. You can read it while we're on the road."

A few silent seconds went by; then his wife scolded: "That was _cruel_ , Lanson."

"What _she_ did was cruel. And _stupid_. _"_

"Lanson."

He hesitated. He hadn't liked the flat tone of her voice.

"I'm calling from one of our lawyers' offices."

Lanson froze.

"You...you're under a lot of stress. You're not thinking clearly. But it's all right. Once I find him-"

"It's _you_ , Lanson. When will you realize that it's _you?_ "

CLICK.

Lanson sagged.

"See...see what you've done, Winner? You've broken up my family. That is _it._ You will have _no_ part whatsoever in our lives. _Ever_."

He replaced the receiver, then picked it up again and dialled a few seemingly random numbers.

"Get me the nearest spaceport..."

-GWFI1F-

In Relena's carefully tended garden, Heero, Wufei and Quatre alternately looked at each other, the natural lushness around them and Baby Heero, who was looking around from a blanket on Quatre's lap.

"So, that's it, then," Quatre said pensively.

Wufei changed his seated position.

"You knew that David was going to do that. Why did you even _bother_ , man?"

Quatre half-smiled.

"I would at least have liked the chance to make certain....arrangements."

Wufei bounced to his feet.

"No _way!_ "

Heero shook his head slowly.

"Wouldn't have worked out."

Quatre winced.

"Yes, but..."

"Do it right, or don't do it at all."

Heero got to his feet and briefly looked into the sky.

" _Trust_ me. Hm?"

A Magnanac was approaching them with a white #10 envelope in one hand.

"Uh oh," Wufei said softly.

Heero's eyes narrowed.

 _I should have_ known _that they wouldn't wait until tomorrow. They're like mother hens. But I wonder what_ she _has to say?_

"Thanks, Michal," Quatre said before accepting the envelope.

Michal bowed.

"No problem, Master Quatre. Master Heero, Master Wufei, is there anything that I can get for you? A drink? A snack?"

"We're fine, no thanks," Heero said, and glanced at Wufei for confirmation, but Wufei was busy watching Quatre open the envelope.

Michal nodded and bowed.

"I'll leave you then," he said, and walked away as quietly as he had walked towards them.

Heero shook his head slowly.

"See how they worry about you, Quatre..."

Quatre barely heard him.

 _I_ knew _that she was going to say this. But it still hurts._

_"I'll never forget you, but please do try to forget about me. It's better this way. Goodbye forever."_

Angry as well as hurt, Quatre bowed his head.

"No...."

He ripped the letter into shreds and tossed them back over one shoulder.

Heero exhaled.

"Let's leave him alone."

He moved to scoop the baby up.

"No," Quatre whispered. "Please. There's more."

Heero glared at him.

"You _didn't._ "

Quatre shook his head.

"It was decided for me. Since she didn't show up, she was followed. They should be telling Michal her location any minute now."

"The letter was a waste of time," Wufei said with a touch of disappointment. "Sorry, man."

Quatre flashed him a quiet smile.

"At least she _saw_ it. And hopefully her father didn't see what she wrote."

"I doubt that he did. But, what your guys're doing could get a lot of people into trouble."

Heero exhaled.

"They know what they're doing."

"What are you going to do?" Wufei asked Quatre.

Quatre's eyes narrowed.

"I'm going to wait."

He looked into the sky.

"And then I'm going after her."

-GWFI1F-

The furor over Quatre and the Davids soon fizzled out, due to the lack of details and the fact that either of them had yet to be found.

Relena's private retirement speech to the New Alliance somehow managed to remain private, although people did wonder where she was. But since people were still celebrating the ratification of the "ultimate" peace treaty, interest in her soon waned as well.

But interest rose again nearly two weeks later, when the Darlian estate's publicist released this statement:

"We have hired former colony diplomat Quatre Raberba Winner as our Chief of Staff. Please welcome him into your hearts as we have welcomed him into our home. Also, we congratulate our Miss Relena on a successful career and the part she played in the fight for peace.

"No telephone calls or solicitations of any kind, please. And may the peace that Earth and the Colonies have found last forever."

-GWFI1F-

"Get a _life_."

Inspector Charles Baptread hung up on yet another verbal threat to Relena's life. As with some of the other ones, this threat came from a male who swore that Relena was his life, his soul, his sole reason for living.

"Idiot..."

He shoved some of the contents of the Relena-hate-mail pile off his desk so he could get to the publications the pile was smothering.

Relena was the feature of the day in all of them. Quatre was mentioned as well, but warily, as though retribution was feared.

Maybe it was.

"Sir..."

One of the police officers that had accompanied the Inspector to Relena's home the other day sat behind the desk in front of Baptread's. He was _extremely_ nervous. People generally didn't appreciate having their verbal threats hung up on.

"You _really_ shouldn't hang up on people like that. These people are _crazy_. You don't know how they'll retaliate."

 _"Hmph._ What're you afraid of? Aren't you trained enough to handle people like that?"

Baptread snatched up a newspaper appropriately entitled _SCOOP!_. It was a gossip-type publication, with supposedly verified articles about the famed and fortunate.

"He was a gutless punk. All mouth and no muscle. I know these types of punks-"

" _SIR!_ That picture there-"

The officer pointed.

" _Look_ at it! On the other side of what you're looking at-"

"All _right_ , keep your shoes on."

The Inspector turned the paper around and involuntarily gasped.

"You see, sir? You see it there? With that blurb? You-"

"Calm yourself!"

But Baptread's heart was pounding in time with the younger officer's loud breathing as he looked at the obviously "hot" picture of Relena showing Baby Heero around the garden.

 _Those are_ her _eyes._ Her _hair. And the mouth is her brother's, I've seen a few pics of him. But damned if I'm not looking at_ HIM.

"Sir. Doesn't that kid look _just_ like Miss Relena's body-"

" _SHHH!_ You don't know who's _listening_ around here, you idiot!"

But the Inspector already knew that it was too late.

 _I'm sorry. I tried. But I can't be everywhere at once, although I_ would _like to get upside the photo taker's head._ And _the ones of whomever decided to make this picture public._

He leaned back.

_Hmmm. I wonder...._

He reached for the phone.

-GWFI1F-

"We know it's not _your_ fault."

"But _I'm_ going to get the heat for it."

"So...."

" _So_...you think you got a spot for me?"

"I've been _waiting_ for you to ask me that."

" _Figures._ "

"You'll have to work your way up, just like everybody else."

"No problem. Soon?"

"Think of this as your entrance exam."

"I'm there. By the way..."

"Uh oh."

"You're _hilarious_. Congratulations, is what I was going to say."

"Thanks."

"Sure."

-GWFI1F-

The Darlian estate was surrounded by mediapeople of various types, Relena-haters and supporters, the curious and heartbroken self-styled suitors within the hour.

Ignoring the commands from the local police, Inspector Baptread and some Earth Force HEION security members, they fought each other to climb over the locked gates, all the while asking their questions.

Knowing that her staff wouldn't let her be disturbed, Relena, freshly showered and wearing a robe over an oversized T-shirt and fuzzy slippers, walked around her house as she pleased.

But she did so with a scowl.

Who had given permission to, or had made the path for, that picture to be taken? And who had dared to make it public?

Ooooo, if it were up to her she would have all of the staff of the offending publication go straight to the unemployment office.

But Heero had said, "Let _us_ handle it," and so she kept herself in control.

Just barely.

"'Cuse me."

Heero, in faded blue jeans, a T-shirt and black sneakers, squeezed her elbow as he passed her in a hallway. He, Quatre and some Earth and Space HEION members were upgrading the security system throughout the estate - something she didn't quite understand. Wasn't the system already beyond being up-to-date?

Apparently that wasn't good enough for Heero, or Quatre either, because every now and again she would hear something about "holes".

Oh well.

Earlier he had told her not to worry, that the situation would never happen again. She didn't doubt his sincerity, but her life would never be completely private, didn't he understand?

Not _completely_ , but he was trying. Because her faith in him kept him going.

She wanted to follow him, to touch his hand or something before resuming her own activities. He had spoiled her by never passing her without touching her, even during the occasional heated discussion or argument.

They had been apart for a few hours now. This touch was an inadvertent reminder of how torturous the situation was for both of them.

Her eyes narrowed. _Forget_ about the ruckus outside. She wanted her husband. _Now_.

_Heero!_

He stuck his head out of the office he was currently working in - hers.

Her eyes widened. She hadn't really realized how close to her office she was. She had been too busy thinking about _things._

It didn't matter now. He was there, and he was ready for her.

Had the touch been a signal?

That didn't matter either.

Surprising herself, she ran into his arms.

"Relena," he feather-whispered, and reached for the belt of her robe.

"We only have a minute," she warned him as he practically dragged her into the office and slammed shut the open of the two doors in his impatience to be alone with her.

"To _hell_ with them," he muttered.

"But-the-"

"Don't worry about _the_."

They had barely made it to the couch when she froze.

"The _baby_."

He froze, grinned, then tapped his left temple three times.

She blushed. She'd forgotten about his new headset, which he wouldn't take off until they were in their private quarters that night.

"Take it off," she muttered irritably. "They always know where we are anyway....oh _boy_."

He chuckled as her blush deepened.

"Don't worry about it."

"Oooooo, _you_. Oh!"

Someone knocked on the door....and then a brick with a note wrapped around it came crashing through the window towards the desk.

Relena yelped and reflexively headed for the floor, but Heero pulled her into a standing position and then shoved her towards the door.

"Come in!" she unnecessarily shouted as she ran.

Heero frowned and calmly walked over to the brick.

"Be careful," Relena said as the door opened, revealing a nearly panicky gray-haired maid carrying a wide-eyed Baby Heero.

Relena immediately felt guilty. Would the baby have been safer where he had been?

 _As long as he's with_ us _. Right?_

"It's _crazy_ , Mistress," the maid said shakily. "Someone had a skeleton key and some of them got in before the gates were locked again. Are you two all right..."

She quickly looked Relena over and the younger woman realized that she looked somewhat of a mess. But so what? This was _her_ house.

She smiled to herself. People were so used to seeing her well-groomed that they had forgotten that she was no more special than anyone else.

"Don't worry about it," Relena said firmly, taking the still-calm baby from her. "It will all be over soon, right, Heero?"

He grunted. He was reading the note.

" _Heero_ ," Relena said in a pay-attention-here-please tone.

"We need to go someplace else. Get someone in here to clean up," Heero said without looking at either of them.

The maid frowned, then curtsied.

"Yes, sir."

The baby whimpered and his parents jerked. Baby Heero was an almost completely fearless and quiet child. He seemed to be distressed only when he was hungry or needed fresh underwear.

"He's hungry," Heero said, crumpling the note and tossing it onto the desk.

Relena didn't doubt that, as the baby was staring at her chest.

"What did the note say? And are we still going to have the party for Trowa and the others tomorrow?"

He scowled.

"Of _course_ we're still going to have the party."

She glared at him as she walked out of the office and waited for him in the hallway.

He exhaled.

"Just another jerk wanting confirmation. They'll be taking him to jail by now."

She winced.

"All this stupidity and confusion....is it _me_ they're interested in so much, or my former role in life?"

"Hmm."

"That's not an answer."

He didn't appear to be listening.

She shrugged and walked the few feet to _his_ office, which was almost completely ready for him to work in.

Less than ten seconds later his hand was on her lower back, gently pushing her inside so that he could shut the door.

"They'll investigate....and this situation will be over soon."

"I know."

There was a custom-made sofa against one wall of his office, against a window.

She half-smiled.

 _For_ those _days. And some nights, too._

He walked over to the couch.

She followed, letting the robe drop on the floor before lying on the couch, resting her feet in Heero's lap and cradling the baby to her chest.

"As I said, we only have a minute."

"I'm more interested in-"

"I _know_ what you're more interested in at the moment."

She heaved a fake sigh.

"All right, let's get this over and done with."

But the truth was, she liked having _two_ babies, and at the moment....Heero was right. She _didn't_ need to worry about " _the_."

-GWFI1F-

Quatre and the former Inspector Baptread stood outside of a room that served as a "security post".

"Good job," Quatre said, shaking the other's hand.

"Thanks."

"You helped us coordinate our efforts and put our differences aside and, as a result, everything is almost completely back to normal more quickly around here - what _I_ know of being normal around here, that is."

"Did I pass?" Baptread half-jokingly asked him.

Quatre half-smiled.

"Have you seen him since the maid put a DO NOT DISTURB sign on those doors? What do _you_ think?"

Baptread visibly relaxed and grinned.

"I think I need to help make the appropriate preparations for the party."

-GWFI1F-

Michal weaved his way through the crowd at the party in Isis Park that Relena was having for Trowa, Catherine and the rest of their troupe in celebration of another successful circus season.

Quatre saw him about ten feet away from the table that he was sharing with Relena, Heero, Duo, Wufei, Hilde, Sally (who had recently joined Space Force HEION), Dorothy and three casually-dressed Magnanacs.

Both males frowned; then Michal hurried over.

"What is it?" Quatre asked, his expression softening as Duo playfully saluted Michal.

Michal exhaled.

"It's a girl."

-GWFI1F-

_Ten months and..._

The unmarked spacejet containing Quatre, a team of Magnanacs, Inspector Baptread and a team of New Alliance-grade lawyers took off from a "local" spaceport and headed towards the sky.

Heero and Rashid watched from a safe distance.

"We might not be seeing him for a while," Rashid said with a touch of regret.

Heero frowned.

"They were stupid, to think that filing paperwork to raise the baby as their own would be enough."

Rashid nodded.

"Master Quatre will assert and enforce his rights as the father."

Heero's frown deepened a little.

"What is it, Master Heero?" Rashid asked with genuine curiousity, then gasped. "You don't think..."

Heero nodded.

Rashid sighed.

"What's that expression? Oh yes. The Davids will give him fifty kinds of heck if he tries to do that."

"But he _will_ do that. It might take him some time to do it, but he will. And I think everyone involved will be better off when it happens."

Rashid grinned wistfully.

"I rather think that I will like being a kind of uncle."

Heero shook his head slowly, then watched the spacejet fade into the distance.

"Welcome to the future, Quatre."

Rashid grinned fondly at him.

"Welcome _yourself_ , young sir."

Heero blushed, then scowled.

"At least we're here to see it."

He and Rashid exchanged knowing looks, then turned and walked away.

-GWFI1F-

_...two weeks later_

_"Hold your horses!"_ Lanson David yelled at whoever was knocking on the front door of his new house.

He thought that his life was nothing but grief.

The staff frequently found unique little ways to express their dissatisfaction, for example apparently unexplainable cold tea on cold mornings and well-done meat when he wanted rare or medium-well. He and Carissa were still married, glued fist-to-fist by the legal promise that they could raise the still-unnamed baby as their own, but they argued several times every single day and had slept in separate bedrooms from the first night that they had moved into the new house.

Clarisa had had severe mood swings throughout her pregnancy and was now very cranky, except when with the baby, who appeared to be as unhappy as her mother and refused to be held by anyone else.

But the worst thing to Lanson was, the Davids were social outcasts because of the baby, even though no one knew where they were.

 _Almost_ no one.

Someone had found the Davids, adding to Lanson's almost constant irritation.

 _Isn't it bad enough that he is almost loved as much as he ever was? My plans backfired. How intolerable! Why should_ I _be the one who's suffering!_

But who knew that they were here?

Lanson froze and his eyes widened just as his hand touched the doorknob.

_No._

But who _else_ could it be?

 _Dammit! I should have_ known.

"Mister David! This is Captain Charles Baptread of Earth Force HEION-"

Lanson gasped.

_"TRAITOR!"_

"-you _must_ let us in, or else I'll have to have you arrested for interfering with a perfectly legal operation-"

Lanson glared at the door.

" _No!_ "

 _"Father!"_ Clarisa called from her upstairs bedroom, apparently not remembering or caring that the sleeping baby was with her.

 _"Lanson!_ " Carissa screamed from her own bedroom.

 _"What's going on?!"_ they yelled as one.

The baby began to wail.

 _"Quiet!"_ Lanson yelled, hating that he wasn't in control of the situation.

Whoever had been knocking on the door, knocked louder.

"Mister David, _open this door_ ," Baptread commanded.

Lanson began to panic.

 _The side door. No. The_ back _door. Yes. I'll beat them there. Yes. There. I must._

"This is your last warning, Mister David!"

"For goodness sakes, Lanson, just open the damned door!"

"Mother! Don't curse around the baby!"

"Don't tell me what to do, young lady! This is _your_ fault, remember?!"

"It's _my_ baby! You're not taking her away from me!"

"Oh, we're back to _that,_ are we?"

_"Mister David!"_

" _Noooooo!_ Leave me alone! Shutup!"

Lanson shoved curious staff members out of his path as he headed for the back door, in his confusion not wondering why Baptread wasn't breaking the locks on the door.

"No.....leave us....."

He nearly slammed into the back door, which brought some sense back into him.

"Dammit."

He opened the back door, then clapped a hand over his heart.

"YOU!"

Quatre stood there, surrounded by one policeman holding up a house-search warrant and the lawyers holding up certain negotiation-type documents, all of the papers signed by - of _course_ \- the man in charge of the New Alliance.

His blazing eyes and quiet but powerful anger cut through the rest of Lanson's confusion to his heart.

Lanson began to hyperventilate.

"You....no.... _found_ us....no right...."

"Bad move, Mister David," Quatre said with pity.

-GWFI1F-

One month later, at a "secret" spaceport, a tearful but secretly relieved Clarisa kissed her daughter goodbye four times before turning around and running back over to Lanson and Carissa.

Quatre cradled the still-unnamed baby to his chest, heaved a long, long sigh, then showed the Davids his back and walked the short distance to a different spacejet from the one that had carried him and his "team" to this colony.

Once he was aboard and settled, the others fussed over the baby with her mother's hair and Quatre's eyes, while he watched the Davids drive away in their limousine without looking back.

"What's her name, Master Quatre?" one of the lawyers asked, jerking him back to where he was.

Quatre smiled at the baby, who was playing with his tie and, to his surprise, smiling back at him.

_That's my mother's smile. I've seen it in photographs...._

"Mya. Wha..."

He didn't know why he had said that name, but it suited her.

"Yes. Mya Quaterine."

The baby gurgled.

Quatre grinned. Tears stung his eyes.

"Do you like that name?" he asked her softly. "Do you?"

One of the Magnanacs mumbled a euphenism.

"It's a _shame_ that David nearly had a heart attack, when you asked for Clarisa's hand."

Quatre shook his head.

"I'm not surprised. Doing the right thing isn't always the _proper_ thing to do. It wouldn't have worked out, anyway. We're not Heero and Relena."

He held the baby high in the air, then brought her back down to his chest.

"As long as _you're_ happy. And safe. Welcome to the future, Mya. My one request of you is that you help things remain as they are now."

The baby gurgled again, then fell asleep.

It wasn't until then that Quatre realized how exhausted he was. He and the Davids had put each other through a sort of hell, and it had been worth it, but he was only human.

As his eyes fluttered shut, he felt someone slide a pillow behind his head.

"Thank you. Thank _all_ of you...I owe you so much...so much....for my new life...for _all_ of our lives. Forever..."

"Forever," the others respectfully said as one, then prepared for the trip back to Earth, not able to keep themselves from smiling because they were riding with one of the people that had proved that faith could move mountains and, more importantly, inspire people to change their minds.

Yes, hopefully the peace between Earth and Space _would_ last forever. But was hope enough?

Hopefully.

-GWFI1F ENDE-


End file.
